Censurable
by Nilly's Issue
Summary: Carter gets kidnapped. Let's just say Sadie and Zia aren't okay with it. And they plan to get him back. No matter what.
1. Part 1

Girls are so stupid. They are stubborn, loud, snotty, and ruthless.

Or maybe that's just my sister. It probably is.

Okay, so admittedly we both have sort of been at each other's throats lately, but we're siblings, aren't we supposed to do that? Either way, this prank war had gone a little bit too far. It started out small at first, a little salt in her cereal, a poked hole under the lid of my pop can, the occasional spider in her room, and then it started to escalate. It really started to escalate.

Maybe it was a _little _unfair that I put purple hair dye in her shampoo, but it washed out in three days! And for those three days, I did indeed enjoy calling her an ugly Smurf. (She had it coming.)

When I woke up on the ceiling Thursday morning I realized that this was going to be a tough one. I still haven't figured out how she got me up there. But it took Khufu and I two hours and a lot of rope later to get the job done. And I landed unceremoniously on my head.

So, naturally, I set a spider on her breakfast.

She put itching powder in my pants.

I put laxatives in her ice cream. (And you don't think that is brilliant beyond brilliant, you're hopeless; that's freaking hilarious.) She spent the entire day in the bathroom.

That must have really irked her the wrong way, but seriously; there are things you mess with and things you don't.

I have been super claustrophobic my entire life; big crowds, small spaces, elevators, you name it I've been trapped in it and it has terrified me to death. I guess I shouldn't use that wording, not with this career choice anyway. But it's just one of those things I would prefer not to talk about and not to deal with.

And Sadie crossed the line.

I was taking my dirty clothes to the laundry room (yes, I do my own laundry, is that a problem?) and suddenly I was pushed into the closet and the door slammed shut, encasing me in darkness. "I'll see ya in an hour, Carter!" Sadie yelled, and I heard her footsteps fly down the hallway, away from me, and my only source of escape was my problem.

The reality of my situation dawned on me. There was no light, and I could feel the wall against my back; and the door a mere two inches from my chest. My heart started pounding in my chest, pulse rapidly climbing. The irrational, but very real fear swirled around my brain, sending panic stir into my veins.

Breathing heavily, I could feel a droplet of sweat fall down my neck, swallowing the lump in my throat; I gathered myself and started yelling. Loudly. Screaming bloody murder. "Sadie! Get back here! Help! Holy Horus, I swear I'm going to rip you apart when you get back here! Sadie! I'm not kidding, Sadie I'm serious! Get back here!"

Slowing down, I groaned and shoved the door with my shoulder. I tried again, no movement. This time I turned to my side and hit it really hard; the only that happened was a painful rebound into the opposite wall and an almost dislocated shoulder.

I spent the next hour shouting and shoving the door. My voice had long since faded away, my shoulder had developed a large bruise, and pitiful wheezes were coming from my chest. I felt an errant tear slide down my cheek as I weakly slammed the door with my fist again, my lungs heaving, and small gasps slipping past my lips.

"Let me out, please!" I begged; the volume of my whisper reduced to a whisper. Giving up, I leaned against the door and ran my fingers through my hair, struggling to gain control of myself and not start sobbing helplessly.

Suddenly I heard giggling and the door opened, letting me crumple to the floor on my hands and knees. I heard Sadie gasp and fingers grabbed my bruised shoulder. "Carter, are you okay? God, I didn't mean for thi-. Are you _crying_? God, I didn't mean to-. Carter? Carter, answer me, are you okay?" She was shouting loudly. And in Sadie land that meant she was worried, but at the time I really didn't care.

Snarling, I roughly threw off her arm and stumbled to my feet, racing down the hallway and flying out on to the street, almost passing out from the sheer joy of having fresh air and natural lighting.

She locked in me in the closet for over an hour; excuse me if I'm a little hostile.

"Carter! Are you okay? I didn't mean for you to-! I'm sorry!" Sadie was yelling at me as she tried to follow me down the sidewalk.

But I was faster, and thankfully so; I was pretty sure if I tried to talk to my sister I'd end up impaling her with a streetlight or start sobbing at how terrified I had been and why of all pranks to do to me she had to pick _that_ one.

I ended slowing down a few minutes later, the adrenaline fleeing my system and leaving me exhausted and cold, but relaxed. I had somehow managed to get myself to an empty park. I flopped down on a bench and swiped at the sweat that had gathered on my forehead.

"Hey."

Startled, I looked for the owner of the voice. An athletic looking teenager flopped onto the bench next to me. He was tall with broad shoulders and blonde hair; he looked like he belonged in California, not a random park in Brooklyn.

"Uh, hi," I breathed, kind of freaked out by his sudden friendliness.

He tugged a hand through his hair and smiled widely at me, looking like a feral cat. "What you running from? 'Cause I've seen runners, and that wasn't running for the sake of running; that was pissed off, 'I'm freaking out' running."

I uncertainly nodded, now _really _freaked out by his abilities of perception. Maybe I was being a little paranoid, but you try having magicians with magical powers try and kill you around every corner; it does things to you. Being paranoid saves your life.

"My sister was just being a brat."

He laughed creepily and then asked, "You live up the East side?"

I nodded.

"That's the rich side of town isn't it?" He questioned, almost challenging me.

Confused, I shrugged, "I guess, bu-." Something heavy, something _hard_ hit the side of my head and I went down, crumpling off the bench and landing on my side on the ground. The pain was instantaneous, blossoming across my temple and rendering me useless to even attempt to protect myself. The world seemed to spin rapidly, trees and dirt mixing together in a confusing collage.

Something hit my head again, and this time, I didn't stick around long enough to even feel the pain. My eyes fluttered shut with a pain filled groan, and the last thing I heard before everything faded into blackness, was a maniacal laugh right next to my ear.

"_You're done, kid." _

Then I was gone.


	2. Part 2

A dark blue Sedan pulls up to the grass in the parking lot. A woman with dark sunglasses and blonde hair pulled back in a severe ponytail is seen driving it. She climbs out of the vehicle and goes around to the other side, leaning against it and glancing around inconspicuously. She hears heavy footsteps crunching through grass and quickly locates the source of the noise.

"You got one, then?" She asks as she goes and opens the trunk door. She watches as the blonde guy tosses the kid he had over his shoulder to the floor of the car. He rolls limply until he's sprawled on his side, and the blond smiles widely.

"You think we'll get a lot for this one?" She asks.

"Definitely."

Her eyes flickered with indecision as she stared at their new captive. He was completely motionless, no twitches, nothing.

"Are you sure you didn't hit him too hard? 'Cause we're not supposed to hurt them too bad, Jace." She stammers, stomach twisting with guilt. But she couldn't feel guilt; not in this business. She couldn't afford it. They did what they did and they got the money.

Jace grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the car. "Listen," he spat through gritted teeth. "I did what I always do. Now we'll get the money we need and then return him, alright?" He leaned closer, his breath uncomfortably loud in her ear. "Don't you dare think of backing out, you hear? Because I _will_ make sure you never think about it again, understand? You understand, Kaitlyn?"

His fingers were digging into her skin, and with a jerk, she twisted away from him and stalked to the driver's side. "I understand," she whispered, slamming the door shut and looking back with a cringe at the all-too-small boy on the floor.

Sometimes she didn't like this job. Kaitlyn didn't like it at all.

* * *

><p>"Carter! Stop running! I'm sorry!" Sadie gave up her desperate screams; he was obviously way beyond apologies at this point. She had no clue that was he was claustrophobic; only when Carter crumpled out of the closet, wheezing and crying did she catch on, and <em>God <em>that wasn't her intention!

It was supposed to be a friendly prank (maybe not friendly) but she had not planned on making him _cry_. It was just a little revenge; he put laxatives in her ice cream! And nobody realizes how much that sucks. Paying tribute to the porcelain god every half hour was not one of her favorite pastimes.

Sadie rested her hands on her knees and watched the loping form of her older brother as he quickly got smaller in her view, disappearing towards the park. She sighed and turned back and headed towards the House again. Hopefully he would was just running off steam, he would pissed at her, no doubt. But Carter would come back and then Sadie could apologize, because she really hadn't meant for this to happen.

Prank war was over.

Sadie slammed the door shut, startling Zia and Walt.

"Guys, Carter's missing."

Zia's eyebrows furrowed and she asked, "Sadie… what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, he ran to the park three hours ago and he's still not back."

Walt looked at her in confusion, "Why did he run to the park?"

Guilt ran rabid in her stomach and Sadie collapsed on a nearby chair. "I kind of played a prank on him that wasn't too nice. I didn't have any idea he was claustrophobic, though! I mean, it was only a little prank; it was only supposed to get him angry, not make him panic!"

Someone put their hand on her arm, and she looked up and met Walt's eyes. "Hey, calm down. We'll figure this out. I'm sure he got lost or something. Don't worry," his voice was incredibly comforting, and Sadie _so _didn't deserve to hear it.

Zia stood up, mildly imposing with her face in a hard mask, although the slight crease between her eyebrows told the real story. "Carter doesn't get lost."

She was right, if anyone was allergic to geographic issues, it was Carter. Sometimes she wondered if he had a compass inserted into his geeky head. Sadie squeezed her eyes shut in stress and rubbed her face, "What I'm asking is that you guys come look for him with me? I… I did something I shouldn't have done and need to make it up to him."

"It's no problem, right Zia?" Walt turned and asked in her direction. Zia nodded shortly and disappeared out of the door.

Sadie stood up and struggled to control the fear that was squeezing her insides and making her nauseous. No, _nauseated_; Carter constantly corrected her when she said that. And then he would smirk and tell her that maybe she was nauseous, because she sure disgusted him. Sadie shook her head and shoved the memory out of her mind. Now was not the time for film worthy flashbacks.

As Sadie walked out of the door, she couldn't even bring herself to find comfort in Walt's warm hand between her shoulders.

It took ten minutes to walk to the park, and they stood at the entrance and faced each other. Sadie spoke up, "I say we split up, cover more ground. Hopefully he's around here somewhere."

Zia nodded, "That sounds like an okay plan. And if we do not find him?"

Sadie's face drained of color and she swallowed. "We will. He has to be here. And I guess, if we don't, then we meet back here and go talk to Amos. But he's here. Carter wouldn't run off. He wouldn't."

Zia looked at her like she wanted to say more and then shrugged, turning around and heading to the east side of the park. Walt made eye contact with Sadie, silently saying: _it'll be okay_.

And Sadie really tried to believe that.

* * *

><p>Zia turned around in a circle, and then turned again. She didn't see any signs of a scrawny teenage boy with floppy black hair and a reckless grin. She wasn't worried, not at least. She wondered if she should ask anybody if they had seen him around. Zia took note of the guy fishing by the stream, the woman running, and the guy walking his dog. Fishing guy was her best bet.<p>

She slowly approached him and asked, "Excuse me, I was wondering if you had seen a friend of mine?"

He turned towards her, and she struggled to not wrinkle her nose in disgust. He was very overweight, his large stomach practically sat on his knees, and the chair looked like it was ready to buckle. A crooked pair of glasses sat on his nose, in front of startlingly blue eyes.

"Describe him to me, young lady." He said conversationally, pulling the rod up and staring at the water.

She coughed and cleared her throat. "He's probably five-five, very tan, quite thin, and he has long, sort of curly black hair?"

He laughed heartily and started reeling. "I think I saw a lad around that description. Came here about three hours ago, lookin' like he was running for his life. You scare him off, say you were pregnant or something?" He asked, clear amusement shining in his eyes.

Zia blinked and stuttered, "No! No! We're not together. No. We're not. He's-. Ah, friend. And I'm not pregnant!"

Fishing Man laughed and shook his head, "He went that away, then."

Zia pushed out a curt thank you and walked to the path that was set in the woods, still in a bit of shock over the accusation. She was, by no means, in any way, involved with Carter. He was simply a boy, who happened to have all these memories with her, for which she didn't return. He had all these _feelings_ for her that she didn't return.

She continued down the paved pathway, eyes skirting over everything, searching for signs of Carter.

The longer she looked the more worried she became.

Carter wouldn't run off. He was very closely tied with his sister and the present war they were in; he was practically in the center of it. Zia had seen his strong connection with loyalty, he wouldn't leave. And that was why she was worried.

What their enemies had finally made a move?

A move that could cost them everything; because if Carter was gone, so was Sadie. You couldn't have one without the other, Zia noted that much. As back and forth as their relationship was, as _rude_ as it was; they loved each other. They showed it in rather peculiar ways, but it was obvious.

Zia didn't understand completely, but she got the big picture.

Sadie like her, she did, but if it came to Zia or Carter. It would be Carter. If Zia even _dared_ to think about hurting Carter; Sadie would immediately push her away.

Zia understood that. She had had experience with the seemingly unbreakable ties of family.

Pulling herself from her reverie, she stopped moving and looked around, dumbfounded by the lack of any signs of Carter around. She spotted the bench by the side of the path and sat down, taking a minute to gather her thoughts. She rested her head in her hands and breathed deeply. This wasn't going as well as she hoped it would. They were supposed to find Carter, bring him back, and be done with it. She wasn't supposed to be _worried_. Preparing to stand up again, she sighed and put her hand on the backrest of the bench, and then stopped.

It was wet. No, it wasn't completely, a small part of it was. Curious, she pulled her hand away and stared wide-eyed at the small red stain on her palm. Her stomach sinking with dread, Zia leaned closer to examine the wood and was shaken by what she found.

There were blood spatters. It wasn't a lot. But it was blood. Small red dots sprinkled over the weatherworn wood, standing out with blatant clarity. Zia swallowed and pressed her fingertip to one; it was still wet.

"Zia! Sadie! Get over here! _Now_, get over here _now_!" Walt was screaming through the trees. His voice was loud, and urgent.

Zia sprinted in the direction of his voice, her mind still stuck on replay of the dots, the ones that were still on her hand. They couldn't be _his_. Why was she assuming they were Carter's? It could have been anyone who cut themselves on the bench, not him.

Why was her stomach twisted so tightly?

Huffing, she spotted a blonde head of hair and skid to a stop beside Walt. He had a hand on Sadie's shoulder, almost holding her steady. Zia's eyes wandered over Sadie's pale complexion, and then Walt's painfully large eyes.

"What happened?" She urged.

Walt turned towards her, features flattened in what looked like shock.

"Amos called me. He says someone called him…"

Zia was confused, "Someone called him? And what did they say?"

Walt took a deep, shaky breath.

"Zia… someone called and said they had Carter."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean 'they had'? I don't understand."

Sadie met eyes with Zia.

"It means someone kidnapped Carter, Zia."

* * *

><p><strong>There's Part 2. :) <strong>

**I was kind of blown away by the response I got! 8 reviews? Thanks so much! **

**Tell me your input... **

**As of right now, I'm assuming there will be around 6 parts; so not that long. **

**Thank you for reading :)**

**And hakuna matata! :D**


	3. Part 3

Amos leaned forward on the table, his forehead lined, and face twisted in anger. "Listen to me closely. If you don't return Carter immediately, I _will _find you, and I will _hurt_ you. He hasn't done anything wrong in any of this. You want money? Get it from somewhere else. Not him."

The voice on the telephone laughed softly, maniacally. It was a male, young, going off the sound of his tone, and the way he spoke. "I think you're misunderstanding me. I have Carter. Therefore, you give me the money, and if you don't, I will continue to keep Carter."

Amos's face darkened considerably and his voice was low, threatening. "I don't think you know what you're getting into. Return Carter. Or I will personally come and destroy you."

This time the laugh was loud, hysterical almost. "Oh please, calm down, we aren't on a discarded scene of _The Godfather_. You can't touch me." The voice settled, tone dropping, menace replacing the hysteria. "I have Carter, and you don't."

Amos opened his mouth, rage building in the back of his throat.

He didn't get his feelings voiced.

"Well," the voice breathed. "We'll be waiting."

The dial tone echoed through the air.

"Damnit!" Amos screamed, flying out of his chair and sending it toppling backwards. "I'll get you back, Carter. I swear; I'll get you back."

Walt, dread curdling in his stomach, pushed himself from where he was leaning against the wall and stood in front of Amos.

"Did you record all of that?"

Walt nodded solemnly, eyebrows furrowed in one part worry and two parts anger. This was wrong. Carter, out of everyone here, didn't deserve this. He was just so inherently _good_. He protected Sadie with everything he could; he saved the planet a few times over, and he was incredibly patient with teaching. It was strange, considering he was only fourteen. But he was great at it. Most of all, Carter had this air of _hope_, like he saw a way out and he was determined to bring everyone with him.

He was just a good person.

Walt hated it when bad things happened to good people. It was just wrong.

Sadie wasn't handling it well at all. It was his first instinct to reach out to her, to comfort her, but she'd been pulling away ever since they'd gotten back to the Brooklyn House. He supposed it was guilt.

She didn't want to be consoled. The shock was still too fresh. It wasn't really her fault. It just happened. Yeah, maybe she shouldn't have locked Carter in the closet, but mistakes were mistakes. Everyone knew Sadie wouldn't intentionally hurt her brother.

Amos handled it differently. He was all plans, pushing forward, figuring this mess out.

Zia was… Well, Zia. Maybe she didn't realize the repercussions of what was going on, how _bad _this was, because she just followed behind everyone with a blank yet vaguely troubled expression on her face.

An angry growl brought Walt back to the present and he glanced over at Amos.

The Chief Lector was rubbing the bridge of his nose, face creased with stress.

"I'm going to call a friend. See if he can trace the call. Might've been a cellphone, I don't know. Let's hope not." He rubbed his forehead and jumped around Walt's eyes. He was distracted. "Why don't you, uh… Sadie. Yeah, check on her. If I get a location I'll report back. Stay in the house. _Don't leave._ I—"

_Can't handle anyone else disappearing._

Walt nodded silently, sliding the iPad under his arm and starting towards the door.

"Walt?"

He stopped, turning back. Amos was looking at him; his eyes were smoldering. "You make sure she doesn't leave this house, got it? We both know Sadie. She's just like her brother. Don't let her go anywhere."

"I won't." Walt reassured him. He struggled to meet his eyes.

There was a picture on the side of Amos's wall. It was of Carter and Sadie, probably taken over the summer. It was an aerial view, most likely from the balcony and looking down. Carter was sprawled on his back, a wide grin on his face, and Sadie was sitting next to him, propped against the back of a chair, her head thrown back in laughter. They both looked happy, at ease, lost in some inside joke. Walt's heart dipped.

Sometimes he forgot, lost amidst a war, that although Carter and Sadie were siblings, more than anything, they were _friends_. They genuinely liked being in each other's company. Sadie wouldn't, _couldn't_, sit around while he was in trouble; she was just as designated to protect Carter as he was to her.

Walt wanted to protect them both.

He had at least fifty pounds and four inches on Carter, and even more on Sadie. It was stupid, because magic-wise they could both kick him into next week, but he couldn't help but slide into the big brother role. He hated it when Sadie was hurting, and Carter was a part of the package. If Carter hurt, Sadie probably hurt more.

Walt didn't know Carter very well, he acknowledged that, yet they both watched each other's backs. They just did. You had to know and separate your enemies from your friends.

Maybe if they weren't both so damn small he wouldn't act like this.

He wouldn't want to cut someone's eyes out after looking at that photo for three seconds.

Amos followed his line of sight and stared at the picture. He regarded Walt with a strange expression on his face.

Walt slid through the door.

"Oh, and Walt?"

Walt halted. "Yeah?"

"You can't leave either."

* * *

><p>Zia wasn't good at this "comforting thing". She had no idea what she was doing.<p>

Sadie was sitting on the living room floor, breathing slowly and staring at the carpet. Zia had no idea how this was going to get them anywhere; didn't they want to find Carter? But Amos had given them strict instructions to stay downstairs and not move. Sadie was taking it pretty literally.

Zia's stomach twisted in tight knots whenever she thought of Carter, or even looked at Sadie.

Carter was everywhere. His black sweatshirt was thrown over the back of the couch, stray books on the floor, iPod on the counter, loose leaf notebook with notes scrawled in his sloppy-yet-pretty handwriting. Zia remembered Sadie telling her that she was trying to get Carter to loosen up, that it was okay to be messy. Zia supposed she succeeded. She could still see him walking around the mansion, that focused yet thoughtful look on his face.

Even if Zia was a little less… _tense _when Carter wasn't around, this feeling was so much worse. Knowing something bad was happening to him and not able to help, not able to lift a finger. It felt like she was loading the gun pressed to his temple. Zia hated it.

"I'm sure we'll find him," she said weakly, trying to help in some way.

Sadie met her eyes for a moment and then stood up.

"I know. I'm going to. This is my fault and I'll fix it. I have to. I owe him that much." Sadie picked up Carter's hoodie, hugging it to her. She clenched the black fabric in her hand. "No one messes with my brother." Her voice was deadly.

Zia watched her with mute wonderment. Did Carter realize? Did he realize how many people cared about him?

Sadie took a deep, quivering breath. The previous fervor seemed to fade from her face. "How could I do this?" she muttered.

Zia swallowed roughly, her hand fluttering uncertainly over Sadie's shoulder. She was intruding on a private moment. Leaving now would be cowardly. Staying would be painful. Luckily Walt walked in at the right moment.

He sidestepped Zia and put his finger on Sadie's chin, pulling her head up. "Hey," he said steadily, looking her in the eyes. "Amos is going to get the call traced. He'll find out where these guys took Carter." His voice dropped, comforting; the tone Zia could never even hope to command. "We'll find him, all right?"

Sadie nodded and stepped back, her fists clenched in a death grip. Then she started yelling. "How could someone do this? Why would—. How could—. Carter doesn't deserve this! I swear I'm going to rip this guy apart! _Carter_? Really? Of all people? She was struggling for other things to scream. "Damnit!" she yelled. It echoed across the room.

Zia leaned next to Walt and muttered, "Well, this is different."

He shrugged. "She's more productive when she's angry."

Now _that_ Zia understood.

"What are we supposed to do?" she asked.

Walt sighed heavily and sank into the armchair next to them. "There really isn't anything we can do, not until Amos finds out where they took him."

"So we just _sit _here?" she asked incredulously.

He scrubbed the side of his face, frustrated. "You have a better idea?"

Zia blinked. "I suppose not."

Walt laughed humorlessly. "You know, I don't get you."

Zia's eyebrows furrowed. "Of course you don't. We barely know each other."

He looked up from his hands. "We know each other enough. You're so… I don't know how to put this. Carter is obviously… Well, he likes you a lot. The guy trips over the leash that he's got attached to your hand. But you keep jerking him around. It's even painful to me. One second, it's like you guys might be able to attempt some sort of friendship. _Something_. The next, you're back to independent, condescending robot. No offense. It's just—. When we get him back, cut him some slack, okay?"

Zia swallowed roughly and stood up. She needed to move. Go somewhere. Do something. She wanted out.

"Normally I'd be offended by what you just said. But unfortunately I know you're right. It's just that—. I need time to sort this all out. None of this makes sense to me. I don't know how to act around Carter. He's so—." Zia couldn't find any words sufficient enough.

Footsteps echoed down the staircase.

Sadie, Zia, and Walt stood together, facing Amos.

"So?" Sadie challenged, anxious.

Amos unfolded a white piece of paper.

"A partner of mine traced the phone call to a cell phone in New Brunswick. I doubt that they'll still be there. Money is the only factor in this. There's no connection to Carter and anything to do with magic. I promise."

"But it's a start," prompted Walt.

"Yes, it's a start. But we're not going to New Brunswick."

Sadie shook her head. "What? Why not?"

"Because. I called another friend. I think we may have a way of casting a tracking spell on Carter."

"Good!" Sadie said. "What are you waiting for? Let's do this."

* * *

><p><strong>Umm... It's been a while... I really really long while. Writer's block : **

**I'm sorry this chapter was so short, but I felt like I owed you guys _something. _Anyways, I've been busy, you know, publishing a whole bunch of other crap for Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Feel free to check that out!**

**I promise the wait won't be that long between these next chapters.**

**Love! **


End file.
